What are the names of the HSBC lions, where did these names originate from & which one is depicted roaring? The HSBC lions are nicknamed Stephen and Stitt after senior managers from the 1920s. Stephen was named for Alexander Gordon Stephen, formerly Manager Shanghai, and in 1923 the Chief Manager of HSBC, and Gordon Holmes Stitt, the then Manager Shanghai. Stephen is depicted roaring, Stitt quiescent; insiders said that this represented the characters of the two famous bankers